It's Here! The 2006-2007 NHL Season Thread

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Hey, Marsters hasn't ever gotten a shot at the NHL level! I'm not saying he'll be a star, but he's not that far removed from college and has had reasonable degrees of success as a pro in various situations.

Funnily enough, I almost posted on the Ducks board asking why there was so little love for Marsters. Nobody even mentions him as an option, it's either calling up McKee (horrible) or JP Levasseur (7th round pick and a GAA close to 4 in the QMJHL)

Personally I had thought that Marsters was a better prospect than any of those and pretty close to Wall in terms of current ability, but from what I hear he's not really got a shot.

[Chief Rum]

We had an NHL backup ready to go, but we lost Leighton to waivers during the first hit of goalie injuries in November.

Wall has had some good showings. I think he will be fine for a short bit. Plus, Bryz has been practicing more and more and should be back soon.

Agreed, that was a terrific game last night between the Ducks and Sharks. Sharks might be the third best team in the league, and yet they're second in their own division and fighting off Dallas.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Wow... It just got a little dusty here in the ole office.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/s...t&lid=tab1pos1

Want to know the true Stevie Y? Just ask Braxton

---

By Eric Adelson
ESPN The Magazine

The little boy held on to that Vic hockey stick even before he knew what it was. The piece of wood was too small to ever use to play, but Braxton Davis wedged it in his pudgy fist as if it were a security blanket, or his dad's pinkie. How the boy wailed when the nurses took the Vic away. Brant Davis wanted so badly to tell his only son that the stick would be waiting for him after surgery. But Braxton wouldn't understand. He wasn't even a year old.



More than 10 years later, Brant Davis still looks at that stick every day.


Davis can recall just about every moment of 1995. His first and only son born March 6; the way his tiny hand latched on to that Vic; the wonder at Braxton's pupils being two different sizes; the worry when the doctors ran blood and urine tests to figure out why; and the terror when the initial tests led to more tests, then a bone marrow biopsy.



"He's a baby," Brant thought. "His bones aren't even hard." The diagnosis came Dec. 12. Braxton Davis had neuroblastoma, cancer of the nerves. According to WebMD, only 25 percent of babies diagnosed with the illness are cured.





But that wasn't all. Braxton also had lymphoma, cancer of the lymphatic system. Doctors told Brant that his boy was one of only 78 humans to be diagnosed with both cancers.



"Babies are the only thing a human can make," Brant remembers thinking, "and I did it wrong."



On the day after Christmas '95, even before Braxton's first New Year's, nurses took the Vic away and wheeled the infant in for three hours of surgery to determine the progress of his cancer. Three hours became five, and five hours became eight. Braxton had a tumor wrapped around his spine -- three inches by two and a half. He barely survived into 1996.


Brant decided that Braxton would have to live as much as possible in whatever time he had. "He wasn't going to live in a bubble," Davis said. "I was going to treat him like a normal kid."



Yes, there would be plenty of chemo, plenty of pain, plenty of impossible conversations. But Braxton did get his stick back. And that brought hope. Brant noticed that Braxton took to the color red as he began to toddle. A love for the Red Wings followed. Dad avoided trying to explain that everyone in Denver hated the Red Wings (especially in the mid-1990s), but little Braxton would grow to find out himself. As soon as he was old enough to put stuff up in his room, Braxton had pictures of Steve Yzerman everywhere.



Braxton made it to age 6. He ignored comments about his love of the Red Wings just as he ignored comments about his hairless head and the half of his face that would not glisten or glow red no matter how much he ran around. Just part of being Braxton.



"Kids would make fun," Brant laughed, "and he would punch them. And then he would go to the principal's office."



But Dad sweated out every single day. He worked at a hockey shop, and things fell apart with Braxton's mom soon after the diagnosis (they have since divorced and share custody), so Brant had no idea how he would finance annual medical charges that soared past half a million dollars. He reached an agreement with a Denver hospital and paid whatever he could, but he saved a few pennies to finance Yzerman hockey cards and posters for Braxton. Kids at school would offer a Sakic and a Roy for an Yzerman, and Braxton said no. He would get entire box sets as presents and throw out everything but the Red Wings cards. So Dad figured he would take a chance and write an e-mail to Hockeytown. Maybe when the Wings visited the Avs, somebody could leave a pair of tickets at the Pepsi Center door. Or maybe not.



The phone soon rang, and the caller ID read "BLOCKED." Brant picked up anyway. "Hi, is Brant there?" The voice was quiet. Brant couldn't place it. Then: "This is Steve Yzerman."



Suddenly, Brant was taking Braxton out of school for a completely different reason -- to drive him to Red Wings practice. "It was mind-blowing," he said. Braxton's eyes bulged as he saw in real life all the players he watched on television on so many nights. And then, right there in front of him, stood his hero.



Yzerman did not pat him on the head or lift his eyebrows in compassion; everyone in Detroit knows The Captain doesn't do maudlin. "There are some people who know he's sick," Brant said. "They ask how he's feeling. That makes him feel different. Steve didn't do that."


Yzerman told the boy to stick around and watch practice. Braxton did, and his eyes locked on the players as they whizzed by. Brendan Shanahan zipped over and handed Braxton a broken stick. Brant gasped, but Braxton hardly raised an eyebrow. "That's cool," he said. "But it's not Steve's." Brant grimaced and looked around, hoping no one heard. But behind him, then-goalie Curtis Joseph roared in laughter. The next night, Yzerman invited Braxton to the Detroit locker room.


It seemed that day could last the rest of Braxton's life. "It created a drive for him," Brant said. "Before, there was nothing that motivated this kid. Then it was 'Can we get to the rink? I want to play for the Red Wings. Or their farm team.'" Not long after meeting Yzerman, Braxton started to skate. Brant took the boy to his beer league games, sat him on the bench next to him, and taught his boy to swing open the door for the players when they came in from shifts.



Braxton defiantly wore red all over Denver. He would reply to taunts at the mall with quips like, "Ten Cups!" He wore a red practice jersey even when skating with his blue-white-and-yellow-wearing peewee team at the Avs' practice facility, even when Colorado's Steve Konowalchuk ribbed him about cheering for the wrong team.



Yzerman said he would be in touch, but Brant didn't take that literally. The man had done his good deed. Then, when the Wings came back to Denver, the phone rang again. Steve again. Would Braxton like to see another practice? Of course, the answer was yes again.



Braxton got through winter after winter, enduring eight major surgeries and countless upset stomachs, never asking to see his hero again but never straying too far from the phone. Last year, Yzerman called to invite Braxton and Brant to the playoffs in Detroit. A pal who worked for United helped with the flight, and the Red Wings put Brant and Braxton up at a downtown hotel. Yzerman let Braxton sit in the penalty box during warm-ups. Pavel Datsyuk shot pucks at him. Brant always thought athletes did charity work for the positive PR, but Yzerman always waited until all the cameras had left before greeting Braxton.



"He's very private," Brant said. "He doesn't hang out. You see a lot of articles about him, but you never hear biographies."



And that, maybe more than anything, will linger in the minds of those who watched Yzerman play for all these years. Some of the biggest Red Wings fans learned almost nothing about the personal life of a legend. Yzerman played in an era in which individual plotlines eclipsed team travails in all sports. Even Brett Favre, Yzerman's NFL equivalent, has become a bigger story than the iconic Green Bay Packers. The NHL itself has shifted its spotlight to the names on the back of the jersey and away from the logos on the front. Through all that, Yzerman remained true to his team and to himself, a painfully shy man with a gift he never failed to share in the quietest possible way. Braxton Davis, a little boy who wasn't even alive to see the younger Yzerman dance through Norris Division defenses, knows that better than almost anyone.



Yzerman called again this summer and invited Braxton to training camp. Braxton asked, "Will you be there?" Yzerman said he wasn't sure. He didn't know what his responsibilities would be. Brant knew what that meant: Stevie was retiring. Braxton was touched by the invite to Traverse City and the offer to stay at the team hotel and eat at some team meals. But Braxton wouldn't go. No Steve, no trip.



"I was kinda worried," Brant said. "Would this kill Braxton's drive?"


Of all the difficult conversations -- about being different from the other kids, about the unknowable reasons why -- Brant feared this talk as much as any. How to explain to Braxton that Steve was not going to play in Denver anymore?



"That's OK," Braxton said happily. "We can go into his office and he can close the door and we can just talk."



Dad didn't quite know what to say to that.



Yzerman invited Braxton out for the World Series, but the boy had just undergone treatment. He couldn't go. "That killed him," Brant said.


As soon as Braxton found out about Tuesday's retirement ceremony, he called Steve on his cell phone. "I'm going," he told his dad after leaving a message. "I'm going."



And he will be there. On New Year's Day 2007, 11 years and six days after the surgery that seemed to foretell the end of his life, Braxton Davis rode to the snow-blasted Denver International Airport on the way to see his idol say goodbye.



Hard to say when Steve and Braxton will see each other again after Tuesday night. The future, as Brant knows, is never sure. But both the hero and the boy have been nothing if not loyal, and nothing if not reliable. For more years than even their loved ones expected, both made it seem that there can be magic and strength in any old hockey stick. But both have shown that the magic and the strength is not so much in the stick itself but in the person who holds on to it as long as possible, then lets it go.

[Travis]

It's hard to see professional sports lose a player like Yzerman when so few are ready to take up that torch. I grew up in the highlight years of the Oilers, and they'll always be my favorite team, but I'm not sure anybody will ever replace Stevie Y as my favorite player and role model.

[Draft Dodger]

Obviously, I'm a Sakic guy, but I really will miss the 2nd best #19 of all time.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Mario Lemieux meeting with city officials in Kansas City today to discuss a potential move by the Pens. However, he has also scheduled meeting to for talks with the mayor and country commissioner in Pittsburgh to work on a new arena plan.

[Wolfpack]

*sigh* After winning five in a row and looking like they were turning the corner, the Canes drop three of four, including a pair of dreadful performances in the last two against Philly and Pittsburgh. Some solace can be taken that the one win was over the Ducks, but that's tempered by Anaheim's injury problems in goal.

They're too up-and-down this year to I think seriously be Cup contenders. Right now they're looking like a 4-6 seed, which means a likely matchup with Buffalo in the second round (if they get out of round one) and the Sabres have had them for lunch this year. At least it won't be the second-to-worst disaster that was the 2003 season after they got to the SCF in '02.

[Cards4ever]

Wasn't sure where to put this and didn't want to start a new thread, but congrats to Canada in the World Juniors beating the US in a shootout in the semis. I hope they bring home the Gold if the US can't!

[Draft Dodger]

someone found my blog by doing a search for "bbor"

also "britney goes commando"

[Honolulu_Blue]

The ceremony was nice. Yzerman was gracious and humble as ever. Bowman gave a pretty decent speech and it was nice that Darren Pang (Yzerman's best friend) was able to be the MC. They brought out a handful of old Wings. A very sedated-looking Probert got a huge ovation. Konstantinov came out. He was walking using a walker. I can't help but get seriously depressed whenever I see him. I'm glad he's still part of the organization and that they do a lot for him and his family, but it's crushing to see him like that. He was such a physical force when he played the game. He was playing at Norris-level in those playoffs. He was physical, could hit, could pass, score. A great, great player cut down in his prime.

The oddest player out there was Kevin Hodson. Yes, that Kevin Hodson. I could sit here all day talking about my favorite Keven Hodson stories. I'm sure all of us could. I think I might start a whole new thread dedicated to them.

The game itself was pretty forgetable. A rather dull affair with too many questionable penalties and no real flow. Hasek bailed the Wings out and preseved a 2-1 win. The Ducks aren't quite as imposing a force sans-Pronger, but Selanne can still fly.

[Chief Rum]

Wow, are you kidding me?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2007011109

[Maple Leafs]

The province of Ontario pwns the Sabres.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Wow, are you kidding me?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2007011109

Nice work by Selanne there.

(To think I thought this was about the Canes-Panthers game where Carolina played like shite for two periods, fell behind 3-0, then blitzed the Panthers for five goals in less than 10 minutes to start the third period and won 6-4. Got some insight into what it must've been like for a Thrashers fan to watch that 9-1 ass-handing they gave us last year when it seemed every shot on goal went in during the first period.)

[Karim]

//rant on

I'm starting to get tired of media (eastern) who are too lazy to do a little bit of research. Yes, Calgary has a defense-first coach and GM, but they no longer solely rely on Kiprusoff to keep us in one-goal games. In fact, excluding overtime and shootouts, Calgary has only been in 3 one-goal games all season; including OT/SO, the number only increases to 5. Compare that to Anaheim, which has been in 24 one-goal games. Calgary has scored 5 or more goals in a game ten times this season and currently ranks 6th in the league in goals/game at 3.14.

//rant off

[klayman]

I agree with Karim...the media should stop talking about Calgary all together.

[Maple Leafs]

In a classy move from a classy franchise, the Senators played a scoreboard video during yesterday's game against Montreal in which a person wearing a Habs jersey was thrown off the side of a boat.

You can imagine how that's gone over.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

In a classy move from a classy franchise, the Senators played a scoreboard video during yesterday's game against Montreal in which a person wearing a Habs jersey was thrown off the side of a boat.
You can imagine how that's gone over.

Well, it does sound like they went a little ... "overboard".

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

In a classy move from a classy franchise, the Senators played a scoreboard video during yesterday's game against Montreal in which a person wearing a Habs jersey was thrown off the side of a boat.

You can imagine how that's gone over.

Is Montreal the franchise where the GM lost his daughter at sea?

If so, that's just horrible. They should fine the Senators heavily.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

In a classy move from a classy franchise, the Senators played a scoreboard video during yesterday's game against Montreal in which a person wearing a Habs jersey was thrown off the side of a boat.

You can imagine how that's gone over.

that's just simply disgusting.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Is Montreal the franchise where the GM lost his daughter at sea?

Yep.

[TroyF]

The league needs to do something about that. I'd say a 500k fine that is donated to whatever the girls favorite charity was is in order here.

[Fidatelo]

That is unbelievable, someone should be losing a job over that, and I agree with the stiff fine/charitable donation.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Well, it does sound like they went a little ... "overboard".

*groan*

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Wow, are you kidding me?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2007011109

Ok, that's just really effing cool

SI

[Karim]

Unbelievable.

Another reason to hate the Sens...

[Maple Leafs]

It sounds like the scoreboard skit may have been something they've been running all season, for each opponent. So it's possible that this is just really bad judgement in not pulling the video for Montreal, as opposed to something they went out of their way to do.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

It sounds like the scoreboard skit may have been something they've been running all season, for each opponent. So it's possible that this is just really bad judgement in not pulling the video for Montreal, as opposed to something they went out of their way to do.

I can see that, but it's still fucking stupid

[Mateo]

I just read that the NHL is going back to the light jerseys at home next season, when they go to the new Reebok jerseys. They are also doing away with the third jerseys.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=4836

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by Mateo

I just read that the NHL is going back to the light jerseys at home next season, when they go to the new Reebok jerseys. They are also doing away with the third jerseys.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=4836

:woot:

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Mateo

I just read that the NHL is going back to the light jerseys at home next season, when they go to the new Reebok jerseys. They are also doing away with the third jerseys.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=4836

OK, while I understand the writer wanting to take a shot at Lou Lamoriello, it seems stupid to do it when talking about jerseys. All along, Lamoriello's been adamant about not having a third jersey for the Devils. For how long have the Devils been wearing their current sweaters? Nearly 15 years? Almost everybody has a third (or fourth or fifth) jersey, yet the Devils are one of the few teams to not do it.

I don't care if people make fun of Lou, but this Andy Strickland guy just picked a silly place to do it.

[Pyser]

well, on the verge of the all-star break, this seems like a good time to write up my thoughts on the devils so far.


1 - obviously, this team really starts and ends with martin brodeur, who has been simply ungodly in some games. ive seen him make more absolutely mindblowing saves this season alone than i can remember in the last 4 seasons before it. but even on top of that, he hasnt let in many soft goals, which had always been his problem, if he had one. he has been on top of his game all season, in which he's only taken 2 games off.

2 - defense. the devils have been more committed to team defense this year than any other, and thats really saying something. i guess its coach juliens influence, but the devils always have 3 men down low now, which i cant recall the devils doing much of. it hasnt been uncommon at all to see gomez or other centers playing d behind our own goal.

on top of that, there have been some remarkable changes in the defense. firstly is the ascension of brad lukowich. he seemed like a spare part when the devs picked him up at the deadline last year, but this year he has challenged colin white for the best stay at home d-man. and he really proved his worth when we lost 3 d-men to injuries at the same time (including white), and luke stepped in and the team responded with a bunch of shutouts in a short period.

3 - johnny oduya. how did washington let this kid go? he's a 25 year old rookie for the devils, and he fits right in. people look at paul martin as the "next niedermeyer", but oduya could challenge for the role too. hes fast, great vision, and solid in his own end. 20 mins a night for a devils rookie D, not bad at all.

throw in the all-star rafalski, a fairly steady colin white, an improving offensively paul martin, and we have a very solid top 5 on D. the 6th D has rotated, but mostly been david hale, and occasionally alex brooks (30 year old rookie).

plus, we still have matvichuk ready to be activated from long term injury, but cant afford him. and honestly, the way the D has been playing, i wouldnt be surprised to see matvichuk get dealt.

4 - the emergence of the 2nd line. the devils offense suddenly looks very bright in the future, thanks to the chemistry between a much improved 2nd year man zach parise, and rookie 2nd line center travis zajac. those two teamed with langenbrunner has given us our best 2nd line in ages.

5 - the top line. elias - gomez - gionta. they havent been as magical as expected, but all are producing steadily. elias started off his captaincy at something like -14 in the plus/minus category, but has been improving. gionta continues with the clutch goals, hes been our best forward in terms of consistency. elias (who ive taken to calling 'fancypants') makes too many fancy plays for my taste, but hes the only one on the team that does that, and when they work, they are jaw dropping. hes our captain, cant complain.

6 - scott gomez. i really hope this guy stays with us. hes a free agent at years end, and i have to admit hed look great in the more open west. but really, where is he gonna go and end up on a better line than elias and gionta? his end to end skating is absolutely jaw dropping. people complain about his lack of goals, but it hasnt bothered me. hes really our offensive glue i think (despite the fact the devs are 7-1 without him this year). if he goes, we are in trouble, i think.

7- the checking line. if pandolfo doesnt win the selke, ill eat my shoe. hes been lights out as always, and taken 10 mins or less in penalties all season despite taking EVERY shift against other teams best players (jagr, crosby, ovechkin, forsberg, lecavelier, to name a few).

madden is right there with pandolfo, and even nicer, both have chipped in 6 goals each. and both are our top penalty killers. theyve been amazing as always, and selfless as always. say what you will about the matching lines and boring style, but more than anyone but broduer, these 2 epitomize the devils. totally classy, and completely selfless.

add in brylin, the do-it-all winger who is the 3rd man on the checking line, and theyve been as good as theyve ever been. and brylin gets pk2 time, just to show his versatility.


prediction: i hate to say it just for fear of a jinx, but i see this team going to the east finals, probably against buffalo. i dont see the devs making any deadline deals, the team is playing so tight right now that barring injuries, theres just no room for anyone (except 4th line, but come on).

we'll ride our defense and marty all the way this year. but im saying it now: broduer mvp, vezina, and devils will allow the least goals and pims (we are 2nd lowest right now) all season.

defensively, the team has been a marvel.

anyone have any thoughts on their teams? id comment on others, but i honestly only see other teams when they play the devs, mostly.

[bhlloy]

Ducks with everyone healthy are one of the top 3 teams in the league. Ducks with five or six career minor leaguers in the lineup suck. That is pretty much the Ducks season so far.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I'm completely in agreement with Pyser about the Devils. Completely.

[Wolfpack]

Canes continue to hobble along, blowing a lead last night to the 'Ning and losing (again) in a shootout. That makes them 0-4 in SOs this year and a paltry 1-15 in actual shootout attempts. If we make the playoffs, we'll be happy that there's no shootouts.

At any rate, my midseason assessment for the Canes is that this team has regressed back to where they probably actually should be. Last year they rolled with career years from a ton of people. Defensively, the team has really had problems with injuries and bad play. Ward is much more mortal than he was in the playoffs, but given how Gerber has imploded in Ottawa, giving Ward the #1 job was actually the right decision, apparently.

Offensively, the team has really gone up and down, at times able to light the lamp with impunity (see Florida game a week or so ago where they struck for five goals in just ten minutes), and other times completely disappearing (see back-to-back shutouts a few weeks ago).

The Canes still sit six back of the Thrashers for the SE lead, but they've been stuck there for a few weeks now. They blew a golden chance to really cut into that lead a few days ago when they lost to Atlanta in (what else) a shootout after giving up a third-period lead. At this point, I think they'll make it in, but I think the Thrashers will hang on to the division, leaving them probably anywhere from a four to a six seed and a very difficult first round setup with probably Montreal, New Jersey, or Atlanta. I don't think a repeat is in the cards unless Ward brings back his playoff form from last year for this year's edition.

[sterlingice]

Wow. Been a week since the thread has been updated so it's time for a bump. Hawks win to snap 10 game winless streak but that pretty much stuck a fork in what was left of hope for the season. Prior to the streak, they were sitting around 9th or 10th in the western conference in points but now they're second to last

SI

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Ducks with everyone healthy are one of the top 3 teams in the league. Ducks with five or six career minor leaguers in the lineup suck. That is pretty much the Ducks season so far.

WEEEEE'RRRRREEE BAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCKKK!

Well, okay, one very good game against the Stars isn't everything, but we did dominate fairly well, and we had Jiggy and Beauchemin back. Now if we can get Pronger (back but still rounding into shape) and Niedermayer squared away, we'll be set for the stretch run.

[Suburban Rhythm]

I normally hate when I hear 'If the playoffs started today...' because, God damn it, they don't start today!

But, forgive me and give a Pens fan a break....but IF the playoffs started today, the Penguins would be in. Tied with TB with 54 points for 7th/8th place. And they hold 3-4 games in hand on just about everyone ahead of them.

I have no delusions that will contend this season. But getting into the playoffs, and maybe even stealing a round as a lower seed...after 5 long years, it's nice to be back.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Mateo

I just read that the NHL is going back to the light jerseys at home next season, when they go to the new Reebok jerseys. They are also doing away with the third jerseys.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=4836

maybe old news, but sounds like the white jersey thing turned out to be false.

EDIT: not to spam, but if anyone is interested, I've compiled some of the known jersey info for next year (with some links in there to other good/better resources): http://inthecheapseats.com/?p=121

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

WEEEEE'RRRRREEE BAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCKKK!

Well, okay, one very good game against the Stars isn't everything, but we did dominate fairly well, and we had Jiggy and Beauchemin back. Now if we can get Pronger (back but still rounding into shape) and Niedermayer squared away, we'll be set for the stretch run.

Let's be fair, Matt...dominated the 1st period and then the last half of the third. Jiggy was ON FIRE yesterday, but the Stars owned the puck for at least half of the game.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

I normally hate when I hear 'If the playoffs started today...' because, God damn it, they don't start today!

But, forgive me and give a Pens fan a break....but IF the playoffs started today, the Penguins would be in. Tied with TB with 54 points for 7th/8th place. And they hold 3-4 games in hand on just about everyone ahead of them.

I have no delusions that will contend this season. But getting into the playoffs, and maybe even stealing a round as a lower seed...after 5 long years, it's nice to be back.

I think the Penguins will be dangerous in the playoffs. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them win a round or two.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

Let's be fair, Matt...dominated the 1st period and then the last half of the third. Jiggy was ON FIRE yesterday, but the Stars owned the puck for at least half of the game.

Well, we usually have one down period, and that was the second. We sorta coasted after getting the two goal lead. So you're right there.

As for the third, we were done in in the first half of that period by penalties. Once we got through the PKs, and survived Lehtinen's penalty shot by getting a goal back, we pretty much ran away with it.

And, hey, that Jiggy guy ain't half bad.

[Honolulu_Blue]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_yl...yhoo&type=lgns

Unhappy anniversary

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports January 29, 2007 Everyone has a favorite conspiracy theory about the NBA. Some like the idea that David Stern fixed the 1984 draft lottery. Others favor his supposed secret suspension of a star player for gambling problems. Mine dates back to the early 1990s, when the NHL was white hot with fans and never better on the ice. Wayne Gretzky was in Los Angeles. Mark Messier was with the New York Rangers, who were on the verge of ending their Stanley Cup drought. Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Ray Bourque, Patrick Roy and many others were hitting their prime. Anyone who doesn't think hockey can work in America is forgetting this era. All of a sudden, hockey was challenging, if not beating, the NBA in a number of major U.S. markets – including New York. It's almost impossible to imagine now, but it happened. As the conspiracy theory goes, Stern sensed the potential trouble in 1993 while the NHL was in search of a new commissioner. So he looked around his own office for someone so incompetent that if they got the job, the NHL would be marginalized by their mismanagement and never again be a threat to the NBA. Naturally, Stern recommended one of his assistants, Gary Bettman, for the job. True story or not, it worked. Bettman is set to begin his 15th year as commissioner Thursday, and like most hockey fans I feel the need to mark the occasion by popping a bottle of champagne, chugging the entire thing in an effort to drown my misery and then smashing the empty bottle over my temple to black out the memories. There has never been a commissioner of a major North American sports league this inept, yet the league's board of governors keeps employing him, keeps giving him another chance to sink this once-proud, once-vibrant league to new depths. Bettman is on a 14-year run of bad ideas. His latest was a classic, moving the league's all-star game, which featured attention-grabbing young megastars, to midweek on the Versus Network – as opposed to NBC on a weekend. He claimed it would allow Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin to own the sports landscape, unlike some crowded weekend. The result was a catastrophic 0.7 rating. That's a meager 474,298 households in the States that bothered to watch, down 76 percent from the last all-star game. It is par for a season which has seen TV numbers plummet in both the U.S. and Canada (down 20 percent by some reports), attendance drop and media coverage dwindle. Hockey fans would laugh if we weren't crying. We'd figure it would be the last straw that would lead to his dismissal, but at this stage, we know he's never going away. For those of us who grew up loving and living this sport and this league, all of us who cared about the NHL long before Bettman's slow, steady suicidal stewardship of it, it's just the latest in a recurring nightmare. The Bettman era has been an unmitigated disaster for the league in virtually every possible way, one outrageously terrible initiative after another. I could write a book about Bettman's insulting and imbecilic moves through the years (Chapter 9: "The Glowing Puck") but the main problem has always been the same. He has shown no respect for the game, for its history, for its fans, for its unique qualities. Bettman might consider himself an astute sports marketer, but in practice he is arguably the worst of all time. He has never figured out how to change his marketing plans to fit the product of hockey. Instead, he changed the product to fit his marketing plans. The league is now overexpanded and overpriced, misplaced and misdirected. It is less exciting, less interesting, less traditional and more difficult to follow for the non-obsessive fan. Yes, hockey fans remain. I'm one of them. But even we can't believe what has happened here. It is bad enough a desperate, ill-advised grab of supposed "new, emerging markets" have come at the expense of the old fan base. It's dispiriting that the league chased the fickle corporate dollar and priced out families. But what's worse is it just keeps going and going, Bettman on the job for life. Under Bettman's watch, the NHL's improvements are few. Certainly new technologies such as the "Center Ice" package and the Internet have been great. And there are far more highly skilled players than in 1993, thanks to the influx of talent from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Of course, Bettman had nothing to do with these things occurring. The elimination of the red line and the crackdown on obstruction are positives. Some will argue that shootouts to decide regular-season games and the severe curbing of fighting are positives, but that's a matter of personal preference. While some hail the salary cap that allows across-the-board competitiveness, I think it suppresses the kind of elite play that makes the game great. Hockey is the ultimate team pursuit – the need for timing and teamwork is paramount. The individual star is utterly worthless without strong teammates. The great player needs other great players to be great. In the mid-1980s, Gretzky needed Messier, Paul Coffey, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri and others to maximize his abilities and thrill fans. A salary cap prevents talent from flocking together like that, so we get economic viability of the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for breathtaking teams such as the Edmonton Oilers of 1980s or the Detroit Red Wings of the late 1990s. The negatives are too numerous to list, but consider the league's current uneven schedule which serves no purpose other than cutting travel costs for a few cheapskate owners. Teams play eight games per season against division foes, or 32 a year against just four teams. Bettman claimed it would spawn "new" rivalries. Of course, old rivalries such as Detroit-Toronto – two hockey-mad towns separated by a single highway that actually has an exit for Wayne Gretzky Blvd. – no longer play a home-and-home series each season. It's like killing Red Sox-Yankees so Blue Jays-Diamondbacks might catch on. And, since fighting has been curbed, the "new" rivalries haven't really taken because a hockey rivalry without fighting is like non-alcoholic beer. Plus, not everyone gets to see young superstars such as Pittsburgh's Crosby or Washington's Ovechkin. Last week, 22 franchises tried to bring the old schedule back, but eight blocked the move in a vote while Bettman, predictably, did little lobbying on behalf of the majority opinion. This is Bettman's NHL. Fourteen years, four bankruptcies, three franchise moves, two lockouts, one lost season and no effective leadership. The business is so sick that the Pittsburgh Penguins, despite a loyal fan base and the most promising talent since Gretzky, are 50-50 to move to that noted hockey hotbed of Kansas City. Bettman has his apologists who point out that he beat former NHLPA head Bob Goodenow during the last lockout and got a salary cap installed. Which is true, except it cost the NHL an entire season and an incalculable number of fans. And the proposed cap for next season is already creeping close to the average pre-lockout team salary. Wasn't the new deal only needed because the old deal was so bad? And who negotiated that one for the NHL in 1994? Oh yes, Gary Bettman, who locked the players out and killed all momentum from the Rangers' Stanley Cup championship to get that ill-fated deal done. Lord knows what is next. Lord knows how he can make it worse. Lord knows what prior screwups he'll try to solve now with fresh screwups. You'd think a 0.7 was rock bottom, but then again, this is someone who surveyed the burning wreckage of the NHL and decided that what would really turn things around this time were sleek new uniforms from Reebok, which were trotted out last week. "This is an evolution of our uniform," Bettman proudly crowed. Of course, already fans who are carrying even a few extra pounds report that they look ridiculous in the new form fitting jerseys, which has led to predictions of plummeting apparel sales and jokes about how Bettman hatched the idea after watching George Costanza comically change the New York Yankees' uniforms to cotton. "This is a Seinfeld episode, isn't it?" wrote one fan on the San Jose Mercury News' hockey blog. Yes, David Stern's bizarro world, now entering its 15th year and counting.

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A good article. I couldn't agree more with the part in bold.

[Maple Leafs]

Great article.

And yes, the part about fighting and rivalries is absolutely true.

[Fidatelo]

I never thought about the form-fitting jersies + overweight fans angle. That could be a friggin disaster.

[bhlloy]

I now heart Dan Wetzel. Couldn't have written that article better if I had tried (and it would have had a lot more expletives in)

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I never thought about the form-fitting jersies + overweight fans angle. That could be a friggin disaster.

don't forget the increase in price!

and yes, that's an incredible article.

[Pyser]

ben eager is a fucking pussy.

i hate the flyers.

[Maple Leafs]

Sitting around talking with some Ottawa fans the other day, and there was general agreement that nobody cares about the Leafs/Sens game tomorrow. As one guy put it, "Eight times a year is way too much when the teams don't hate each other anymore". Nobody even knew which city the game was in.

Nice work, Gary.

[Honolulu_Blue]

The trade deadline's coming. The Wings have money to burn. They have about $2 million in cap space which equates to about $7 million in annual salary (when pro-rated). That's either one superstar level player or two very solid players.

They will be looking for a top six forward. The Wings are pretty set along the blueline and they feel they are quite deep throughout the organization. In a pinch, they feel they can bring up a couple of guys from Grand Rapids (Meech and Quincey) who could fill in nicely.

A lot of interesting names out there. I think there should be more action than last year. Teams have a better handle on the cap and after Edmonton's "home run" with Roloson, I think a lot of teams worked the cap to ensure they had some extra wiggle-room to make a deal.

The most prominent names being floated out there are Forsberg, Brad Stuart, Gary Roberts, Bill Guerin, Tkachuk, even Bertuzzi among others.

I love the trade deadline. Always one of the best days of the year (hockey-wise).

[Maple Leafs]

Daniel Alfredsson being booed mercilessly in his own building by fans of the other team will never get old.